Barrick Gold proposes name change to reflect copper push

It’s the world’s second-largest gold producer, and its New York Stock Exchange ticker is “GOLD.” But these days Barrick Gold Corp. sees its future in copper.

The company is proposing to change its name to Barrick Mining Corp. — dropping “gold” from the title — in the latest sign the Canadian mining company is pulling away from its storied bullion roots.

Barrick is investing $6 billion to build a giant copper mine in Pakistan, which it aims to start up in 2028 and could operate for at least four decades. It’s also expanding a Zambian copper mine that could make it one of the largest in the world.

Chief executive officer Mark Bristow has talked for years about expanding in copper, and even weighed takeovers of copper producers Freeport-McMoRan Inc. and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. that never came to pass.

“Barrick’s just really interested in copper now,” said Carey MacRury, a mining analyst with Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. “They haven’t really bought anything in gold, and they haven’t really built anything in gold since Bristow took over.”

The shift marks a radical departure for the Toronto-based firm, which grew into a titan of the gold industry through a flurry of aggressive dealmaking under founder Peter Munk. But it’s also a reflection of where miners see their future: forecasts show copper demand soaring in the coming decades while few new mines are being planned. The biggest firms are racing to add copper to their portfolios in anticipation of looming shortages.

Barrick’s gold production, meanwhile, is now at its lowest rate in at least 25 years as the firm wrestles with aging mines, political turbulence and slowing expansion work across its sprawling portfolio. Its chief rival, Newmont Corp., is by far the world’s largest gold producer, while No. 3 producer Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. is on track to match Barrick’s bullion output this year.

The name change “more appropriately reflects Barrick’s full portfolio of mining activity, rather than a business focused predominantly on gold,” the company said in a Friday statement. Shareholders will vote on the proposal at a May 6 meeting.

(By Jacob Lorinc)

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